Leaders of Chicago’s worker centers and unions have been meeting to soothe conflicts over the defense of unionized immigrant workers.

Tensions developed this summer after union members approached a worker center for help with no-match letters from the Social Security Administration. The letters tell employers which employees’ social security numbers don’t match their name and are often used as an excuse to fire immigrant workers.

Call to Action: People’s Bailout Now!!
National Week of Action December 7-13
Visit www.jwj.org/bailout for more information.

As many predicted, the Wall Street Bailout has proven to be the gross give-away to the same financial bigwigs that have been pocketing millions while wrecking the real economy. Little or no benefit has gone to the working people and the real economy, at a time that we face the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s. By the time Obama is sworn in, hundreds of thousands of additional people will lose their jobs, lose their homes and lose their health care.

It’s time for a “People’s Bailout” that fixes the real economy, restores a voice for working people in challenging corporate greed, provides emergency help to the victims of the crisis and begins building a fair economy that works for all, addressing crises in housing, health care, jobs, retirement security and the environment.Continue reading →

This morning I received news that jailed Iranian teacher union activist Farzad Kamangar may be hanged within the next few hours.

According to the Education International, he has been taken from his cell in Tehran’s Evin prison in preparation for execution. The guards have told him he is about to be executed and they are making fun of him, calling him a martyr.

Pass on the this message to everyone you know who might support this campaign.

We may only have a few hours left.

I know that I can count on your help. Thank you.

Eric Lee

[Talking Union experienced difficulty accessing this LabourStart campaign Wednesday morning Hopefully that is due to an intense response to this appeal. Keep trying or set an email to the Iranian authorities via the Education International website.]

While Americans were focused on their November presidential election, equally momentous decisions were being made in the Pearl River Delta area of China’s Guangdong Province. The industrial belt stretching from Hong Kong north through the cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan to the provincial capital city Guangzhou (formerly Canton) has become a crucible for an epic struggle over the future direction of Chinese society.

What does Obama’s historic victory mean for the progressive coalition that backed him? What will be the effect of the massive grassroots movement that brought him into office? Are we in for four more years of neoliberalism with a Democratic face, or does the left have enough muscle to push for a “new New Deal”?

A few weeks ago, 25 billion dollars of federal assistance was approved for the Big Three automakers to retool their product lines, shifting from gas guzzlers that are not selling at any price to more fuel efficient vehicles. But General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler say they are essentially broke, and cannot meet day-to-day expenses. With the support of the UAW, the companies are asking for additional emergency help, to the tune of another 25 billion, to keep them solvent until they can make the needed transition to less thirsty, presumably more marketable vehicles.

There is precedent for bailout in the American auto industry. When Chrysler was on the brink in 1979, congress passed the Chrysler Corp. Loan Guarantee Act. It included loans of 1.5 billion dollars, and helped extract concessions from suppliers and the UAW. The government had an oversight shadow board of directors to monitor a “realistic and feasible” recovery plan. Chrysler’s new “K” cars were a success, and the company repaid its loans early, with the government actually earning over 300 million dollars from its investment.

But the present economic crisis, and the growth of the Japanese, Korean, and German owned “transplant” market share, makes it hard to inspire the same confidence in such a Big Three realistic and favorable recovery today.